The apples of the Hesperides

Hesperides. In Greek mythology, the maidens who tended a tree bearing the golden apples of immortality, a wedding present to the goddess Hera from Gaia, mother of the Earth. Their garden was guarded by Ladon, a 100-headed dragon. The apples were taken by the hero Heracles as one of his 12 labours, but returned by the goddess Athena.